Finally, there are plenty of exciting little films waiting to be incorporated in your different studios. And into my columns, too. After months of scarcity, today I will be previewing five limited releases, all opening on the weekend of Sept. 19. There are films for every taste: Southern-fried drama, British historical pomp, Chinese integration, Brazilian controversy and a good ol' American Western.

Let's get started with a film that took its time to finally make it to theaters. Hounddog was filmed more than two years ago, and shown in competition at the Sundance Film Festival a few months later, in January 2007. Up until the film's first showing, a huge buzz and a huge controversy surrounded it, because its young lead, child actress Dakota Fanning, was said to be at the center of a rape sequence. Her character, Lewellen, is a young girl, raised in the South of the United States by her abusive father and strict grandmother, who finds solace in the music of Elvis Presley.

Hounddog is Deborah Kampmeier's second directorial effort, after the little known Virgin. Everyone believed the picture would be Sundance's big sensation, the hottest film to catch for audiences, and to buy for distributors. The reality was different. The hype died in a few hours, once the film played at the festival and was almost unanimously panned by the critics (only The Hollywood Reporter supported it). The effect was almost immediate: No distributor purchased Hounddog. The buzz turned so bad around the film that many thought it might never find its way to a theatrical distribution deal.

It took more than a year, but theatrical release finally happened, with Empire Film Group taking the distribution reins. Empire is rather new to the distribution game, having previously released just two films theatrically, Midnight Run scripter George Gallo's Local Color and ... Blond and Blonder with Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards. (I don't think I even need to comment that information, as it speaks for itself). Kampmeier surely would have preferred a more experienced distributor, but at least the film is finally being released with an R-rating for the "a disturbing sexual assault of a young girl," in 500 theaters or so.

If it had been launched in a smaller number of theaters, then curiosity might have earned the film a few PTA points. The pattern that's been chosen, however, will almost certainly prevent any interesting income for Fantasy Moguls players (how many people will want to see a 12-year-old being raped to the strains of Elvis?). The price tag in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues is $5, and I would be surprised if Hounddog is worth even that much. It won't get you any PTA, it won't make much money overall, and the IMDb User Rating should stay around 6.5 at best.

Actors always fear being typecast, being perceived as good in one genre, and one genre only. I do not know when that fear will take shape in Keira Knightley's mind, but she doesn't seem to have gotten there yet. When you think of the British actress, what comes to your mind? That's right, period costumes and British manors (and also manners). Pride & Prejudice, Atonement (admittedly to a lesser extent, given its World War II setting) ... even the movies she did in Hollywood, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and King Arthur, while adding fantasy twists, have kept her confined to being British and wearing gowns, corsets, sticks and leaves (King Arthur), etc. Now we have The Duchess, with Knightley portraying the historical Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, an 18th-century aristocrat wed somewhat against her liking to a rich and unfaithful Duke, and secretly yearning for a young politician.

The film is directed by Saul Dibb, whose first feature, 2004's Bullet Boy, was about as far from the universe of period dramas as can be: a graphic, contemporary drama mixing sex, drugs and violence. Nothing that would have indicated that his next feature would take an interest in a distant ancestor of the late Princess Diana. Oddly, a small controversy has risen those past few weeks, as a trailer for The Duchess has used some footage of Lady Di, making a parallel between the two ladies' unhappy destinies.

For such a film though, what is important is not such silly little discussions, but the word of mouth and critical support. The Duchess will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in a few days, and from there, we shall have an idea as to whether it will have a career as brilliant as those of Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. It's also the first of the three prestigious award-targeted films that the soon-to-be-dissolved Paramount Vantage will distribute this fall, along with Edward Zwick's Defiance and Sam Mendes's Revolutionary Road. (Is it just me or do I often mention the disappearance of this or that specialty studio lately?)

The Duchess, given the prestige Knightley and co-star Ralph Fiennes enjoy among lovers of well-reviewed British dramas, should have no problem getting attention if Toronto's reception is positive. That, along with the theater count, is the element to watch for in the next few days. If the critical response is good, the $10 price tag in Fantasy Moguls's Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues could be very interesting, with a solid User Rating in the high 7s likely, and expansion prospects that could result in significant box-office revenues (the $8.5 million Moguls projection is probably rooted in a "mixed reviews" scenario; with solid buzz, the final tally could be much higher). PTA points, of course, will depend on the theater count (four points are possible on opening weekend, maybe a couple more if the expansion is slow). The film could also be interesting in Box Office leagues, at $3, if you want to bet on a small film with expansion potential. (P.S. Know what's next for Keira Knightley? A big screen adaptation of "King Lear." Britain ... costumes ... castles ... you get it.)

For the same price in Ultimate leagues, you could opt instead for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, which offers much more limited potential than The Duchess. Yet let me be clear on this, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a good film. It is Wayne Wang's latest, a return to his independent roots for the Chinese-born filmmaker, who has been a little lost, these last few years, directing uninteresting Hollywood movies such as Maid in Manhattan (with Jennifer Lopez) and Last Holiday (with Queen Latifah). In his new film, we find a bit of what we loved in his earlier work: Eat a Bowl of Tea, The Joy Luck Club and the Brooklyn dyptich of Smoke and Blue in the Face.

A simple, touching father-and-daughter story, A Thousand Years is centered on Yilan, a Chinese woman settled in the United States for many years, who receives a visit from her father, an old Chinese man who has never traveled to America before. There is nothing sophisticated in Wayne Wang's film, and that is what makes its strength. It is classical, touching cinema. Although only A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is being released for now in the United States, the director made two films echoing each other, the second being The Princess of Nebraska, a more experimental and difficult, but at the same time poetic and haunting film than A Thousand Years.

A big winner at the San Sebastian Film Festival last year, A Thousand Years should attract quite a few lovers of Asian cinema, and what is interesting for Fantasy Moguls purposes is that Magnolia, its distributor, is releasing the film in only two theaters on opening weekend, one in New York City, one in Seattle (maybe because the movie was shot in Washington?). In spite of the small release, and probable good User Rating (not below 7), $10 seems a bit of a high asking price. The film would need to score PTA points on several weekends to justify that price tag, given that it has no Top 5 or box office prospects whatsoever. And that's unlikely.

One film that should make more noise inside the arthouse corridors is the explosive Brazilian crime drama Elite Squad. This is a film that has been the source of many heated debates for the past year. Set in 1997 Rio de Janeiro, the story follows the BOPE, the Batallion for Special Police Operations, and particularly its leader, a man looking for his successor to fight crime and gangs in the dangerous favelas of the city.

Since the film's release in Brazil, in October 2007, José Padilha, who had previously directed the successful documentary Bus 174, has been vocally attacked for glorifying the police forces, with some critics accusing the film of fascism. Not everyone feels that way: The Berlin International Film Festival, its jury headed by filmmaker Costa-Gavras, well known for his politically engaged cinema, awarded Elite Squad its top prize, the Golden Bear. And, in the meantime, the film has become the most successful movie at the Brazilian box office in 2007.

Such success and debate could only attract attention, and it is IFC Films that grabbed hold of the distribution rights in North America for this grittily R-rated policier. For now, the plan is to release the film in Los Angeles and New York City, which means a small number of theaters. And a film that divides audiences like this one can only generate strong PTA numbers from curious cinephiles ready to make their own opinions on the subject. Still, now that there's an increased number of arthouse films in the game, it seems doubtful Elite Squad will have enough PTA elbow room to justify paying $14 in Ultimate leagues. At best, it will grab 6 or 7 PTA points to go along with its solidly established (and excellent) UR of 8.2 (more than 9,000 votes are registered).

The most expensive film of the week, on the other hand, will probably not create any controversy at all. It will cost you $21 in Ultimate leagues and $9 in Box Office leagues. One year after the surprise triumph of 3:10 to Yuma and the surprise flop of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, comes another September western, Appaloosa.

Westerns have grown rare enough over the years that it seems like any Western with strong filmmakers and/or actors creates talk of a bold and glorious revival. By becoming a dead genre, it suddenly became a prestigious way of reinvigorating style into either action (3:10) or reflective (Jesse James) cinema. Yes, those B movies with big boys playing with guns, riding horses and facing death in the great, emblematic American landscape have become a happy space for film buffs in need of something different on the big screen. Appaloosa, I don't doubt, will provide such joy, much like Unforgiven, Open Range or last year's duet did.

Like the westerns mentioned, this one is loaded. There's talent behind the camera, where Ed Harris, an always impressive actor (latest proof: Gone Baby Gone), returns in the director's chair eight years after his debut film, Pollock. Once again, he directs himself, here in the role of Virgil Cole, a marshall hired by a small town (Appaloosa) to help the townspeople rid themselves of a powerful rancher who rules with an iron fist. To help him in his task, Cole enlists the steady trigger finger of longtime friend Everett Hitch. As if a good ol' Western promising escapism and action wasn't enough, Harris offers us a few more pleasures, by casting Viggo Mortensen as Hitch, and Jeremy Irons as the fierce rancher. I am not a fan of love stories in westerns, but I guess adding a love triangle with a female character portrayed by no less than Renée Zellweger clearly expands the box-office potential of Appaloosa.

Now, here's the question: Will Harris's western follow in the steps of 3:10 to Yuma ($50 million at the box office), or suffer the fate of The Assassination of Jesse James ($4 million, despite being the best American film of 2007, in my heart, alongside Zodiac — not that the producers of the film really care about that)? Warner Bros., which is distributing Appaloosa, opted for a platform release, with a three-city launch on Sept. 17 (Wednesday; bear that in mind, last minute decision makers) in L.A., New York and Toronto (following its premiere at the TIFF), before expanding the film wide two weeks later on Oct. 3. It should be noted that it was also Warner Bros. that distributed The Assassination of Jesse James last year ... or didn't distribute it, if you take my meaning. Jesse James was also slated to open wide, but never expanded in the end because of disappointing results during its limited run.

But the truth is that Appaloosa looks more like an action western than a metaphysical one, so there are good reasons to hope the film will encounter success limited, and should do very respectable business when expanding. If the word of mouth and reviews coming out of Toronto are as great as the film looks, then it should be able to grab between 7 and 10 PTA points and, as it goes wide, grab 4 or 5 Top Five points. Total box-office grosses should go higher than the $26 million Fantasy Moguls predicts, probably in the $35 million-$40 million range, and the User Rating will be higher than 7. $21 in Ultimate Movie Moguls Leagues might still be a bit expensive, but it's not a bad bet. In Box Office leagues, it is very reasonably priced at $9.

It has been a while since I last had so many films to chronicle, so pardon me if you thought you'd never reach the end of my column this week. Among Sept. 5 releases, which I did not include in my column two weeks ago because they were not available in Moguls leagues at the time, Everybody Wants to Be Italian, Mister Foe and Ping Pong Playa are too expensive (each is $10 or more), so you probably won't regret that there's not much time to think about adding them to your Sept.-Nov. slate. French drama A Secret, on the other hand, is priced $7 and therefore more interesting. Grab it if you dare!

Next week, I'll keep being busy with the end of September and a few more films, among them Choke and Blindness. So don't stray too far away ...

Indie Jones thinks Keira Knightley and Renee Zellweger should have switched films. Renee has shown she can do "British" in the Bridget Jones movies, and Keira would probably be more believable as a tough, rifle-totin' frontier missus, although she is a little young for Viggo and Ed. Make your own casting call to danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.